Lord Peter Mandelson should hand back the payoff he received after being sacked as ambassador to the US, or give it to charity, a Cabinet minister has said.
The peer was sacked over his relationship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but anger in Westminster has intensified after the latest release of documents which indicated he leaked market-sensitive information to his friend while he was a government minister.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden suggested he should donate the taxpayer-funded handout, a sum which could run into the tens of thousands, to a victims’ charity.
The scandal over Lord Mandelson’s appointment to the top diplomatic job has led to calls for Sir Keir Starmer to go, with Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Steve Wright saying “everybody’s thinking it”.
Mr McFadden, a close ally of the Prime Minister, rejected those demands, arguing a change in leadership could unleash “chaos and uncertainty”.
Pressed on the party’s promise to move on from Tory sleaze, the Cabinet Minister told Sunday morning political programmes: “Maybe one way we can be different is to not drop the pilot after 18 months and to stick with a leader and have consistency in leadership.
“I think he’s got a five-year mandate, which was just voted for 18 months or so ago in a general election. His task is by no means complete, barely begun.
“And I also think it is not good for the country to change its prime minister every 18 months or two years – leading to chaos and uncertainty, economically, politically and reputationally around the world.
“So I know this has been a difficult week, but I think we should stick with the Prime Minister, support him. He admits he’s made a bad mistake here. He has apologised for it, and I’m sure he willing learn from that going forward.”
Mr McFadden said Sir Keir “has acted in good faith throughout this”, and is “horrified” by the recent revelations about Lord Mandelson’s ties with the late paedophile Epstein.
He also said calls for the sacking of Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney – whom many blame for Lord Mandelson’s appointment, were “beside the point” as it was ultimately a prime ministerial decision.
But FBU chief Mr Wright said: “Unfortunately we’re seeing MPs being wheeled out again today to sweep up the mess behind the Prime Minister at the moment.
“And it seems that the Prime Minister isn’t taking advice from elected people within his own Government. We’ve seen that he didn’t listen to the former deputy prime minister. He hasn’t listened to his current Deputy Prime Minister. He’s listening to a factional group which are making bad decisions, it seems.
“And I want to see the change that was promised and that this country needs.”
Mr McFadden said he did not discuss the move with Sir Keir and denied knowing about Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, despite once working closely with him.
Mr McFadden was Lord Mandelson’s deputy when, as business secretary, the disgraced peer was passing confidential government information about the response to the global financial crisis to Epstein.
He said he felt “a mixture of bewilderment, anger” and betrayal after seeing correspondence between his former boss and Epstein at the time, adding: “It’s possible to have quite a close political relationship with someone, and there are sides of their life that you don’t know about and have no involvement in.”
Colleagues who let it be known they warned the Prime Minister against giving Lord Mandelson the Washington role “have to answer for themselves”, Mr McFadden said.
Allies of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Angela Rayner, seen as a possible successor to Sir Keir, suggested they had not been in favour.
“They’re over 21, you know, they’ll have to answer for themselves on what they’re saying,” Mr McFadden said about the interventions.
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